Paul R. Cheesman

Paul Robert Cheesman was an American academic and a professor of religion at Brigham Young University.

Early life and education

Cheesman was born in Brigham City, Utah, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His parents died while he was young and he oversaw his own education. He received a bachelor's degree in education from San Diego State University. He received his master's degree in 1965 and doctorate in 1967, both in religious education at Brigham Young University.

Career

In California, he was also a public school teacher, and he later worked as a seminary teacher for the LDS Church. During the Korean War, he served as a chaplain in the United States Armed Forces.
Later, as president of the Foster Corporation, Cheesman was heavily involved in Central America, where he developed a collection and strong interest in pre-Columbian archaeology.
Cheesman taught in BYU's Department of Religious Education from 1963 to 1986. For a time, he served as director of scripture studies and director of Book of Mormon studies in BYU's Religious Studies Center. Cheesman was known for research of correlations between the Book of Mormon and pre-Columbian American discoveries. His stated desire was to promote Latter-day Saint faith:

Archaeological evidences which support The Book of Mormon do not convert, but we would hope that these thought-provoking discoveries might inspire and excite the reader to the point where they would want to study The Book of Mormon with real intent and gain a testimony of its truth.

Cheesman served in various callings in the LDS Church. He served as a Bishop, District president, twice as Stake president, and as president of the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission from 1980 to 1983. After retiring from BYU, he was director of the church's New York Visitors Center.

Personal life

In 1944, he married Millie Foster, with whom he had six children. After retiring, Cheesman and his wife moved to St. George, Utah. In New York, Cheesman suffered a massive heart attack and returned to Utah for surgery, when he died in 1991.

Criticism

Cheesman's book Ancient American Indians: Their Origins, Civilizations and Old World Connections has been criticized as a poor work of scholarship, most especially by such men as Martin H. Raish and John L. Sorenson who also believe that the Book of Mormon is an ancient work and thus feel that such shoddy scholarship hurts more than it helps a true understanding of the book. William J. Hamblin has said of a 1985 work by Cheesman on ancient writing on gold plates that it should be "used with caution".

Publications

Cheesman's most recognized publications are about ancient America's relationship to the Book of Mormon. His master's thesis was notable for bringing to light the previously unknown 1832 account of the First Vision, Joseph Smith's first recorded account that dates to 1832.